bees.knees

Medicine Making

Infused Honeys+Electuaries+Pastilles

Overview:

Honey is an excellent and traditional vehicle for many herbal medicines. Its sweet taste improves the perceived palatability of many remedies, its own innate healing properties increases its effectiveness, and its ability to extract or preserve a wide range of botanical constituents makes it nearly ideal in a wide range of situations.

Honey is a wonderful method of delivering both concentrated, low-dose medicines as well as food-like herbs. It can be used internally, as well as externally in the form of burn or wound dressings. Honey-based preparations are easily put together, and recipes like that for pastilles can even be done by children and are a great way of introducing young ones to the fun and effectiveness of herbal medicine.

Definition:

Herbal Infused Honey - An herbal honey that has been infused with a fresh or dried plant that imparts its medicinal or culinary properties to the honey. The plant matter is usually cooked into the honey or allowed to steep in room temperature honey for specific period of time in order to most efficiently extract the flavor and medicine from the herbs.

Pastilles - A thick, semi-solid electuary formed into small pills or balls.

Description:

Fresh Plant Infused Honey

In general, herbal honeys are often best made with fresh plants. A fresh plant honey in the folkloric method can be created by simply chopping up enough fresh herbs to fill a jar and then covering with honey, being sure to stir until the plant matter is completely coated and all air bubbles are stirred out, topping off with honey as necessary.

A more precise recipe involves placing 1 part (by weight) chopped fresh plant(s) to a jar and then adding 2 parts (by volume) honey (you may need to gently warm the honey to make liquid enough to pour), and then stirring to evenly distribute honey, release air bubbles and completely coat the herb. Depending on the texture and fluffiness of the plant, this may be difficult to achieve and may require chopping or grinding the plant matter very finely in order to actually be able to cover the plant entirely with honey. While consistency in preparation is helpful and desirable, so is flexibility and function, so feel free to adjust proportions and measurements as needed.

In both methods, the honey is sealed in an airtight jar, and left to steep (out of the sun or direct light) for appr. 4 weeks before straining (reserving honey), bottling and storing in cool, dark place. Especially when the honey is infused with a plant with a high water content, you may wish to store your honey in the refrigerator to avoid possible fermentation.

Dried Plant Infused Honey

A dried plant herbal infused honey is made by taking 1 part (by weight) dried plant, usually roughly ground, and blending with 5 parts (by volume) honey, being sure to stir enough to thoroughly distribute the honey and release any air bubbles. You may need to gently warm the honey in order for it to pour easily.

With very aromatic plants, it may only be necessary to let the honey sit at room temperature for several weeks in order to extract the desired healing properties, but in many cases, more medicine can be pulled into the honey by gently heating the honey and herbs in a double boiler on low heat for 8-12 hours.

When the honey is ready, warm gently until it is easily pourable and then strain, reserving honey. Bottle and store in a cool, dark place until needed.

Electuary

An electuary can be made by simply adding a finely powdered herb to gently warmed honey, with the proportion varying according to the purpose and plant. There is more variation in this recipe than many of the others because the finished texture of the electuary is important and will vary a great deal with the specific herb being used. Remember that the honey will thicken as it sits, so add a little (about 5-10%) less than you think you want for the desired texture and thickness.

Dried herbs tend to work best for this preparation, but it is possible to use fresh finely chopped non-woody plants if desired. Additionally, it may sometimes be helpful to heat the honey and herbs together over a low heat (usually in a double boiler) for 8-12 hours to further extract the flavor and medicine of the herb into the honey. When the electuary is completed, it is usually advisable to run it through a medium fine sieve to remove any large chunks of plant matter while retaining the powder.

Pastilles

Pastilles are a thick electuary made into small pills or marble sized balls often used as throat lozenges or as a convenient way of consuming small amount of whole plant matter. They are made in the exact same way as electuaries but often with a mucilaginous herb as the base, such as Malva, Althaea or Ulmus to help hold the pastille together

When creating the paste, be sure to slowly add just enough warm honey to your herbs to make a thick paste, about a teaspoon at a time. If it gets too gooey you can add more herb powder to thicken it back up. Keep in mind that the gooier it is the harder it will be to dry it. Then take small pinches of the dough and make about marble sized (or smaller) balls, setting them aside on a piece of wax paper or something similar.

After you’ve finished the whole batch, let the balls dry in a warm, dry place. You could put them in the oven at a very low temperature, on top of the fridge or in the wood stove warmer. Depending on what method you use and your climate, they’ll be dry and fairly hard within a few hours to several days. You want them dry to help prevent spoilage and so that they dissolve slowly in the mouth rather than being just a gooey lump.

Once they’re dry, wrap each one separately in wax paper, cling wrap or similar and then store in an airtight moisture-free container. If stored properly, they’ll often last several years. The mucilaginous and astringent properties tend to last a lot longer than the volatile oils, so you’ll notice a slow change over time, with the gooey soothingness usually the last property to go if you used a nice mucilage like Ulmus bark or Althea root.

Notes on Honey Quality

Honey itself has many notable medicinal qualities and utmost care should be taken to purchase the highest quality honey possible for medicinal uses. Raw local honeys are preferred and will also greatly enhance the flavor of the medicine.

Directions:

Fresh Plant Infused Honey

• High quality honey

• Fresh plant matter

• Appropriate sized jar

• Something to stir with (a wooden chopstick can work well)

• Measuring cup and scale

1. Roughly chop plant matter and add to jar in the ratio of 1 part (by weight) herb to 2 parts (by volume) honey, stirring well to distribute the honey and release any air bubble.

2. Cover with air-tight lid.

3. Leave to infuse in a room temperature to warm place out of direct light for about 4 weeks.

4. When finished, strain, reserving honey.

5. Store in a cool, dark place.

For example: We could take 1 ounce (measured by weight on a scale) of coarsely chopped fresh Salvia officinalis (or other aromatic species), place it in a jar, then cover it with 2 ounces (measured by volume in a measuring cup or something similar) gently warmed (to make it more pourable) honey. We would then stir it well, cap tightly and allow to steep for about four weeks before straining and bottling. Be sure to store in a cool, dark place.

Dried Plant Infused Honey

Ingredients

• High quality honey

• Fresh plant matter

• Appropriate sized jar

• Something to stir with (a wooden chopstick can work well)

• Measuring cup and scale

Directions

1. Use coarsely ground plant matter and add to jar in the ratio of 1 part (by weight) herb to 5 parts (by volume) honey, stirring well to distribute the honey and release any air bubble.

2. Cover with air-tight lid.

3. Leave to infuse in a room temperature to warm place out of direct light for about 4 weeks.

4. When finished, strain, reserving honey.

5. Store in a cool, dark place.

Warm Infusion Variation

1. Roughly chop plant matter and add to a double boiler in the ratio of 1 part (by weight) herb to 2 parts (by volume) honey, stirring well to distribute the honey and release any air bubble.

For example: We could use 1 ounce (measured on a scale) coarsely ground Rosa spp. petals to mix with 5 ounces (measured in a measuring cup or similar) of honey in a glass jar. We would then stir it well, cap tightly and allow to steep for about four weeks before straining and bottling. Be sure to store in a cool, dark place.

Directions

If you’re making a compound electuary with multiple herbs, you’ll want to blend the powders first, before involving the honey.

Add gently warmed honey to jar.

Add powdered herbs, about a teaspoon at a time (more if you are making a very large amount of electuary), stirring as you go, until you reach the desired consistency.

Cover with airtight lid.

Ideally infuse for at least a week before using.

You may wish to strain out any larger chunks at this point through medium fine sieve.

Store in cool, dark place.

Variation: Warm Infusion Electuary

If you’re making a compound electuary with multiple herbs, you’ll want to blend the powders first, before involving the honey.

Add honey to double boiler.

Add powdered herbs, about a teaspoon at a time (more if you are making a very large amount of electuary), stirring as you go, until you reach the desired consistency.

Infuse at low heat for 8-12 hours (or more, depending on the plant), stirring occasionally and being sure to cover if infusing aromatic herbs.

You may wish to strain out any larger chunks at this point through medium fine sieve.

Store in cool, dark place.

Pastilles

Ingredients

• One or more electuaries, made a little extra thick to facilitate the pastille making process. Additionally, it is often best (depending on the specific use intended) to use a mucilaginous herb such as Althea root or Ulmus bark as base (constituting about 50% of the herb powder used) to better hold the pastilles better. These herbs are also consistently soothing, anti-inflammatory and widely applicable to a variety of inflammatory or viral ailments.

• Extra herbal powder for rolling pastilles in. Usually this is something like Ulmus or Althea but a blend could be used or something like Rosa petals.

• A tin with a tight-fitting lid or something similar to store the pastilles in.

Directions

1. Form the honey/herb dough into small balls, about the size of a marble. If the dough is too gooey, add more herb powder to the mix, excessive gooeyness will result in pastilles that are very difficult to properly dry. If it is too crumbly, you can add a bit of warm honey, stir thoroughly and wait for the dough to firm up again.

2. If the balls are at all sticky (they usually are), roll them in the extra powder.

3. Place on baking sheet.

4. Allow to slowly dry, either in the open air (a fan will speed up the process) or on your oven’s lowest setting (or in a wood-burning stove, in the very bottom of the oven) or some place similar. Depending on your area’s temperature and humidity, they could take anywhere from 6 hours to several days. They’re ready when firm to hard.

5. Wrap individually in paper and store in a sealed tin.

6. Keep in a cool, dark place until needed.

Considerations: Honey may not be appropriate for children under a year old.

Appropriate Herbs:

Nearly any plant can be utilized through one of the above honey methods. Aromatic herbs tends to work best for plain infused honeys, but electuaries and pastilles can work with just about any plant that can be ground to a fine powder, although some will taste much better than others.

Please note that if you choose to purchase your herbs in powder form that due to the increased exposure of surface area to oxidation, they will often be weaker and break down much more quickly than other herbs. It is therefore imperative to use them as quickly as possible and to always buy from a reputable company or individual. Personally, I far prefer to grind my own herbs in almost all cases (except, as with Ulmus bark, a hammer-mill or something similar is needed), so as to guarantee the freshness and efficacy of the remedy.

Wildling

PO Box 688Reserve, NM 87830email: kiva@wildlingsherbary.com

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